Oddities
by Cima1305
Summary: Soul Reapers go undercover at Hogwarts for a top secret mission. Occurs during 6-7th year, told from various students' perspectives. Warning: spoilers for all HP books and up to Bleach season 12. Will contain at least one slash pairing.
1. Daphne Greengrass

Hi, everyone! This is my first time writing anything Bleach or Harry Potter related, so I hope it's ok. Once again, there are spoilers for all the HP books and up till the "Fake Karakura Town Arc" for Bleach. There will be various Bleach and HP characters involved, and various pairings too, and at least one slash pairing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Bleach, and I'm writing this purely for entertainment purposes. No harm intended, no profit made.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Chapter 1: Daphne Greengrass

Daphne Greengrass rather disliked the new Slytherin girl, at first. New Girl was strange and scowled a lot. Everything about her was odd and off-putting, including the way she walked and the company she kept.

New Girl wore her hair strangely: short except for two thin braids that were wrapped up in cloth and ended in brass rings. New Girl didn't talk much, but she watched everyone, scrutinizing them with big gray eyes that often narrowed in annoyance or anger.

Daphne remembered when Professor Snape had first led New Girl and her companions into the Slytherin dungeon. Earlier that night, at the Welcoming Feast, the Headmaster had announced that the recent insurgences of Dark Wizards have pressured Wizarding schools throughout Europe and Asia to close down. Hogwarts had decided to open its doors to students who had been turned away, and Hogwarts students like Daphne Greengrass were now expected to make these newcomers feel welcome.

"And that's all there is to it!" Dumbledore had announced cheerfully, and in marched a group of strange-looking people. New Girl walked in at the head of the procession, as if she was their leader, and she and two others had been sorted into Slytherin House.

At the time, Daphne had twirled a lock of pale hair around her finger and thought it odd that a bunch of new students could be accepted into Hogwarts, just like that. _She _certainly never heard of any foreign schools closing because of the recent activity in Britain, or that Hogwarts ever had the policy of allowing new students in other than First Years. But "that's all there is to it," was what Dumbledore had said, and that was that.

Pansy and the twins had whispered and twittered behind their hands when New Girl, a rather fat fellow with beady eyes, and a strange-looking young man were sorted into Slytherin.

Professor Snape had personally seen them to the Slytherin Common Room that night and introduced them to the rest of the students in a monotone voice.

"I don't expect any rule-breaking from students in my House," said Snape, "and all of you will be sure to act accordingly in _my _class."

At the end of his speech, New Girl hadn't joined in the chorus of "Yes, Professor," but nodded curtly at him, as if she was dismissing him. Snape had scowled at her and left.

That first night, New Girl had sat up late on one of the Common Room sofas, talking softly with the large fellow until most of the other Slytherins had gone to bed. Daphne had been reading half-heartedly from across the room, and noticed that New Girl's voice was high and sharp, while her companion's was low and lazy. New Girl sat stiffly and even while her hands were resting by her side, they were curled into half-fists. Her skin was tinted green by the light of the lamps and Daphne thought that she looked rather mysterious.

When the clock struck midnight, the large one had heaved himself up and stretched, yawning loudly. Daphne snuck a peek at him from over the top of her book, and saw the glint of jewels on his expensive-looking watch.

"Well, I'm turning in," he rumbled, straightening his robes. "Good night, Captain."

"I told you not to call me that here," New Girl had snapped, glaring up at him. Her eyes glowed fiercely in the dim light, tinted green like her skin. She shifted on the sofa, and Daphne could see that her wand was tucked into her belt, near the back of her waist like a hidden dagger.

"Ah, right, right!" he stuttered in response, seemingly intimidated by New Girl though she was half his size. "I'm sorry. Well, um… goodnight, then… Soifon. Ahem."

Over the next few days, Daphne learned that the fat fellow was Marechiyo Omaeda, the other strange-looking one was named Yumichika Ayasegawa, and that New Girl called herself Soifon.

Daphne disliked Soifon, partly because she found the New Girl a bit frightening. In the hallways, Soifon walked with her back ramrod-straight and her hands curled into fists. Though her eyes stared straight ahead, it was as if she knew exactly who was around her and where they were.

"Greengrass," Soifon said, while they were on their way to class one day, and Daphne jumped because she was walking more than a few steps behind Soifon and there were two Ravenclaw girls walking in between them. Yet somehow, Soifon had known who and where she was, though Daphne couldn't recall when Soifon had ever turned her face around to see.

"Greengrass. Could you tell me where the Ancient Runes classroom is? I've forgotten."

"Um, I-I was going there myself, actually," Daphne stammered. "You can walk with me if you like." And Soifon shortened her steps so that she and Daphne were walking side-by-side.

Then, to hide the fact that she trembled slightly, Daphne tossed her head haughtily and said, "You shouldn't be so forgetful. People will think you're stupid if you keep getting lost."

But what perturbed her was the fact that Soifon always seemed to appear unexpectedly. Oftentimes, Daphne would walk into an empty room, then find out a few minutes later that it wasn't empty after all: Soifon had been there the whole time, watching her with those big gray eyes. Or, as she sat in the library doing her Charms homework, Soifon would be bent over a book two tables away. But if Daphne lifted her head after a minute or two, Soifon was now rummaging through books right next to her, though Daphne never heard her approach. Eyes down to read, then lift head again, and Soifon had disappeared from the library completely, though Daphne never even heard the door open.

It was creepier at nighttime. One minute, the New Girl was sleeping peacefully in her bed across the room, the next, the bed was completely empty and Daphne wondered if Soifon had been there at all, or if her eyes were playing tricks on her. It turned out that Soifon was often gone from bed, even into the late hours of the night. Yet, she was always there when Daphne woke up in the morning, though she never heard Soifon come in during the night.

Then, there was the dream, a very odd nightmare. A white-faced monster had somehow entered the girls' dormitory and was howling. Daphne remembered the New Girl appearing out of nowhere and leaping onto the thing's back, stabbing down into it with a needle-sharp weapon. The last thing Daphne saw was those glittering, gray eyes looking into hers before she woke up. Every time she tried to remember the dream, the details grew fuzzy and it slipped away from her again and again as dreams tend to do.

During the day, Daphne noticed that Omaeda and Soifon spent a lot of time together. They walked to classes and meals together, he always following behind her. They talked in hushed voices whenever they found a spot to sit in the Common Room. Yet, they didn't seem like they were friends. Daphne was sure that friends smiled at each other more.

Later, Daphne found out that Soifon had a cat, though she only saw it occasionally. It was a small black thing with yellow eyes, and Daphne thought it odd that Soifon seemed to like it so much, yet didn't have it around very often. The cat slipped away almost as often as Soifon did, and the New Girl always seemed sad when it was gone.

At the same time, Daphne also discovered that Soifon, though normally cold and strange, grew flustered very quickly if she got angry.

"That's quite a large rat you've got," scorned Flora, the more vindictive of the Carrow twins, when she saw Soifon cuddling the animal. "What's its name?"

"_Her _name is Lady Y-… I mean, Fluffy! Her name is Fluffy!" Soifon snapped back, an angry flush starting to appear on her cheeks.

"Lady Fluffy!" said Pansy, shrieking in laughter. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

Hestia Carrow pinched her nose, as if there was a stench. "It smells like a sewer. Make sure it doesn't get on any of our things."

"Why, you… Shut up!" squawked Soifon, fingers twitching as if she was itching to draw her wand. "You're not fit to clean up her droppings!" Her nostrils flared as if she were a bull being baited, but when she couldn't find a better comeback after struggling for a while, Soifon stood, hefted Lady Fluffy onto her shoulder, and stormed out of the dormitory.

Next morning, Pansy and the twins found all of their stockings shredded and hairballs in their shoes.

Soifon wasn't the only one of the newcomers who got picked on. In Slytherin House, there was never a shortage of people who loved to insult and bully. In fact, Daphne was surprised that Malfoy wasn't more malicious towards the first years or the new students this year, but the blond boy had been looking quite sickly and anxious, and didn't seem to be up to his usual mischief.

Crabbe and Goyle, however, were more than happy to make up for their leader's slack. They bullied, they intimidated, and they threatened, even without Malfoy's guiding hand.

But one day, Goyle received a rather big dent in his pride and Daphne's respect for Soifon went up a few notches. She was playing cards in the Common Room when she say Goyle push Tracey Davis so that she dropped her books.

Daphne sighed and wondered if she should call for Professor Snape, when she saw Soifon moving silently towards them from the other side of the Common Room. Soifon, who usually never bothered to talk to anyone besides Omaeda, was stalking purposefully towards Goyle, righteous anger in her cold gray eyes.

"What've you got there, Mudblood?" Goyle was saying, waving around a copy of the Quibbler that he had ripped from her bag. "This stupid garbage's only for stupid idiots like-"

Neither Daphne nor Goyle saw Soifon move, but the bully's voice cut off with a yell when he found himself prone on the floor, arm twisted painfully behind him, the New Girl's small foot planted firmly in his back.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Soifon growled, and Daphne thought it was funny she should say that, since the New Girl was _hardly_ Goyle's size.

"You're breaking his arm," Daphne warned, and was ignored.

"Geroff me, you bitch!" Goyle yelped, thrashing about on the carpet like a fish. "I'll tell Professor Snape! I'll tell Dumbledore and he'll expel the whole lot of you weirdoes!"

"You should be ashamed of yourself, attacking people from your own House," said Soifon. "You're the one who should be expelled."

She yanked on his arm, making the joints pop and Goyle yell even louder, then let him go.

"Now, get out of my sight."

"You'll pay for that!" Goyle sputtered, scrambling ungracefully to his feet. He pulled out his wand to hex her, but with a short, sharp movement, she made him drop it and clutch his wrist, howling in pain.

"Don't break it!" he cried, when she positioned her heel over his fallen wand, as if to crush it.

"Hardly be a loss, seeing as how you have no talent for Magic," she said coolly. But instead of breaking it, she tossed it far across the room, where it landed on a sofa and sparked a few times. As Goyle dove after it, Soifon helped Tracey Davis up from the floor and gathered her books for her.

Daphne wasn't surprised when Tracey started hanging around the New Girl after that, and she herself found that she liked Soifon a bit better.

But that particular incident didn't stop both Crabbe and Goyle from ganging up on Ayasegawa the next day. Daphne didn't hear about it until afterwards, but if she had to guess, Crabbe and Goyle probably started it out of a twisted sense of revenge for Goyle's humiliation the other day.

She heard later from Malcolm Baddock that Crabbe and Goyle had cornered the feathered Slytherin in the lavatory, threatening to pound him for being a friend of "that freaky New Girl," a ponce, and a pretty-boy weirdo. According to Baddock, Ayasegawa had simply finished powdering his face, turned to him, smiled, and told the 2nd year boy to close the door on his way out.

Later that night, Ayasegawa returned to the Slytherin dormitory without so much as a scratch on his face and Crabbe and Goyle were missing until the next morning. They were found tied to the tallest spire of the Astronomy Tower wearing nothing but their underpants and comically drawn mustaches on their faces.

Madam Hooch had to retrieve them from the air, but not before Colin Creevey got a few snapshots with his camera.

Snape only gave Ayasegawa a week of detention, and Daphne suspected it wasn't so much that he claimed self-defense, but that Snape grudgingly respected the new Slytherin for single-handedly taking on and humiliating the hulking bullies.

Not surprisingly, most Hogwarts students stayed away from both Soifon and Ayasegawa after that. Although, a chortling Ron Weasely did come up to slap Ayasegawa on the back, saying "well, I suppose you lot aren't _all _bad," and offered to buy him a Butterbeer on the next Hogsmeade weekend.

In fact, it was Omaeda who became most popular with the Slytherin House, after many of them found out that he came from quite a rich family and was quite generous with his money. He made fast friends when he treated the Slytherins to drinks and sweets during the weekend, and once Professor Slughorn found out about his student's affluence, Omaeda was also invited to one of Slughorn's supper parties, along with Blaise Zabini.

And though Daphne did warm up to the New Girl eventually, and even decided that the loud, boorish Omaeda wasn't so bad when he bought her a Butterbeer last weekend, she always thought there was something quite suspicious about the new "transfer" students. Headmaster Dumbledore had said they were all from different schools from across Europe and Asia, but they all acted as if they already knew each other, and well. Not to mention that Omaeda still occasionally slipped up and called the New Girl "Captain," for some reason. And once, Daphne was sure she caught Soifon actually _talking_ to Lady Fluffy.

Her suspicions were confirmed one day, when she was returning to the Slytherin Common Room and saw Soifon, Ayasegawa, and the tall, bald-headed new Gryffindor student talking heatedly near the entrance.

"I can't believe you two!" Soifon was fuming. She was red-faced and had her fists clenched tight, as if ready to punch a hole in the wall. None of them had noticed Daphne yet. "You idiots are completely out of control! Have you forgotten that we're supposed to be on a mission here? With all the trouble you're causing, you'll be sure to blow my cover!"

"Oh, come _on, _Captain," whined the bald one. "Cut me some slack! It wasn't like I did it on your turf so you had to cover for me or anything."

"I don't care where you cause trouble, it's still my responsibility! The Head Captain put me in charge and you _will _obey orders, or I'll report you for insubordination. That means no starting fights with Kurosaki, no threatening the teachers, and _no challenging students to duels_! Do you have any idea how much damage you two caused with that fight?"

"But they called me Baldy!" Baldy cried out in indignation. "That's unforgivable! And besides, I didn't ask _you _to butt in, Yumichika. I had it under control and you honed in on my action."

"Psh," said Ayasegawa, looking at his nails. "There were three of them. Don't be selfish, Ikkaku."

"And don't think I forgot about that stunt you pulled last week, Ayasegawa," snapped Soifon. "Argh, I _knew _I could have handled this whole thing better on my own. I'm reporting both of you to the Headmaster and the Head Captain for this. Honestly, if you two were in _my _squad, I'd have you locked up, stripped of your ranks, and maybe even flogged-"

"Um, excuse me?" said Ayasegawa, poking her with one delicate finger, having been the first to notice that Daphne was staring at them with mouth wide open.

"Don't do that!" Soifon yelled, slapping his hand away.

"But I think we've been found out."

All three of them turned to stare at her.

"What "mission" are you all talking about?" Daphne said, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I knew there was something strange going on with you-"

"The mission of education!" Ayasegawa interrupted shrilly, and faking a laugh. "Our sole purpose here is to continue the noble enterprise of learning Magic, feeding our knowledge-starved minds, hoarding the information we learn from these hallowed halls, prevailing on our never-ending quest to become Wizarding scholars! Right, Captain?"

Soifon glared.

"Uhh, I mean… _Captain of the Gobstones Team?"_

"She's _not _the captain of the Gobstones Team," said Daphne. "I'm getting Professor Snape."

Soifon heaved a sigh and took out a strange-looking device from her pocket. "I'm sorry to do this, Greengrass, but I have no other choice."

She pressed a button. A duck's head popped out on a spring and there was a puff of smoke.

The next thing she knew, Daphne was waking up in bed, having no memory of what happened the past few hours. That night, she had a very odd dream of baby ducks playing gobstones.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thank you so much for reading! The next chapters will feature the other Houses and their new members. Please feedback and tell me what you think!


	2. Laura Madley

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Bleach, and I'm writing this purely for entertainment purposes. No harm intended, no profit made.

…..

Chapter 2:

Laura Madley watched as the new Hufflepuff girl plucked onion chunks out of the lunchtime stew. She did it with her fingers. The bland-faced New Girl made sure she got every one of them, then proceeded to eat her lunch with quick, precise movements.

Twist of bread, dip it in, scoop with the spoon, bite, chew, chew, chew, swallow.

The Great Hall was noisy on that day, especially at the Hufflepuff table. People everywhere were talking, gossiping, and shouting over each other, but New Girl looked like she hardly noticed. The banging of utensils, the rustling of papers and books, the spilt pumpkin juice, the elbows and open mouths and prodding fingers, none of it seemed to touch her. New Girl sat there alone and silent, looking bland as ever, eating her stew.

Laura Madley thought that New Girl was quite odd.

There were actually three of the New Students in Hufflepuff, not just New Girl. Further down the table sat Shuuhei Hisagi and even further down, surrounded by his new friends, was Hanataro Yamada. Laura remembered _their _names well enough.

Hisagi liked to roll up the sleeves of his robes, exposing old, odd-looking scars and bulging muscles. There was a metal armband around each bicep and a matching choker around his neck, something exposed whenever Hisagi tugged uncomfortably at the black-and-yellow tie. Three vertical scars ran down his face, like cracks in a wall. His face was tattooed _and _scarred, how thrilling!

Half of the Hufflepuffs suspected Hisagi was an escaped convict; the others half thought he was a retired mercenary. Had he killed 69 people before retiring from a life of violence? Or did was June 9th his childhood sweetheart's birthday? Or had he been a prisoner of cell number 69? Or was he just a very lewd person? It was more fun not to know.

Hisagi slurped at his meal, not seeming to care (or even notice) that most of the people were watching him, even whispering a bit. He rushed through lunch, hefted a load of books into his arms, and rushed to meet up with the blond Ravenclaw that was also New.

"Oh! Hello, Shuuhei," said the Blond, who was standing by the entryway. "Shall we go to class together?"

"Yes, let's go," said Hisagi, and gently touched the Blond's elbow with his fingertips. They swept out of the Great Hall long before lunch was actually over.

Yamada, on the other hand, looked like he was having a grand time talking and fooling around in the midst of all the lunchtime chaos. He had made friends with Macmillan, Stebbins, and Summerby, though Laura remembered how pale and shy he'd been on that first night.

He had looked rather longingly at the Gryffindor table when he'd been sorted, and sat down nervously among the Hufflepuffs. His eyes had been downcast, as if he hadn't expected to make friends, as if he was already resigned that people would dislike him. He had definitely cheered up since then, as Macmillan, Stebbins, and Summerby found him quite likable and welcomed him to their group.

Laura imagined that the poor kid had a tough time making friends from whatever school he previously came from. Although he did seem to enjoy hanging around the new Kuchiki girl and the Kotetsu sisters, who had been sorted into Gryffindor. Laura figured they must have gone to the same school.

Hanataro Yamada was friendly, and charming in his own way. Shuuhei Hisagi was exotic and wonderfully dangerous-looking. The New Girl was none of these things.

Which was why when Laura looked over at New Girl, she had to struggle to remember that New Girl's name was Nemu Kurotsuchi.

"Look, that creepy Slytherin girl is coming this way," Hannah Abbot said to Susan Bones, who passed the message on to Rose Zeller, who whispered it into Laura's ear.

The Creepy Slytherin Girl with the odd braids walked up to where Nemu was sitting. Her large friend, Marechiyo Omaeda, followed closely behind.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with you about some… _things_. If you don't mind?"

"As you wish," replied New Girl, putting down her spoon and standing even though she clearly _wasn't _finished. She followed the other two without another word, eyes half-lidded and hands folded in front of her.

Laura didn't see Nemu for the rest of the day, not even at dinner. But Nemu was sitting quietly in one of the armchairs when Laura returned to the Common Room that night. The New Girl's Potions assignment was lying on the end table and the writing was so neat that Laura could read it upside down.

"Oh, h-hello!" said Laura, a bit awkwardly. "You're Nemu Kurotsuchi, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. And you're Laura Madley."

"Yes, that's right…"

Blank-looking green eyes blinked up at her and Laura wasn't sure what to say, or why exactly she had greeted the odd girl in the first place.

When Nemu didn't offer any further conversation, Laura sat down in one of the other armchairs and, a bit red-faced, took out her own Potions assignment to work on.

She glanced towards the New Girl a few times, and noticed that Nemu didn't really seem to be doing anything besides sitting.

A half hour later, Shuuhei Hisagi stepped into the Common Room. As Nemu rose to greet him, Laura realized that the New Girl must have been waiting for him all this time.

"I have a message from Captain Soifon," Nemu said, and they moved off into a corner of the room to talk. They spoke in whispers, but Laura shamelessly eavesdropped and caught the word "Hollow" many times.

"Yamada should know too," said Hisagi, when their conversation seemed to be at an end. "I'll pass it on to him."

"No, the Captain insisted that I should tell him personally," said Nemu, and turned towards the dormitories.

"Wait, you can't just walk into the boys' dormitories!" cried Hisagi, looking scandalized. "Especially not this late at night."

"Alright then. I will wait until morning."

At dawn the next morning, Hanataro Yamada woke half the House up with his shrieking. Laura found out later that it was because he woke up to find Nemu Kurotsuchi hovering over him, almost nose-to-nose.

Odd. There were many odd things about Nemu Kurotsuchi.

Nemu had the embarrassing habit of walking around the girls' dormitory naked. She stripped before going in the shower, then didn't bother getting dressed again after she dried off. She slept without pajamas. In the mornings, she brushed her teeth in the nude, only bothering to get dressed when she was about to leave the dormitories.

Though Laura was only in the third years' Potions Class, she heard from Hannah Abbot that Nemu was quite good, even becoming one of Slughorn's top students. Her fingers were extremely deft, Hanna said, and she could brew difficult potions without making a single mistake. She got best marks on every assignment.

"Oh, come on, Kurotsuchi," whined Zacharias Smith one day, trying to wheedle her into letting him copy her essay. "I won't look at the whole thing, just the bit about the Everlasting Elixirs."

"It's against the rules," Nemu replied in a monotone voice. "Please don't ask me again."

Smith sneered. "Don't be so stuck-up. It's bad enough that you're so swotty. You're almost as bad as Granger. No wonder you haven't got any friends except old Slughorn. If you like being the teacher's pet so much, maybe you should-"

"Maybe you should leave her alone," Hisagi said, frowning menacingly from across the library. He got up, right bicep flexing.

Smith went white and scampered away.

"No fighting in the library!"

"Yes, Madam Pince."

"Thank you," Nemu later said to Hisagi, while looking down at her hands, "for your support earlier, but it was unnecessary. I did not need for you to intervene." There was a bitter little bite to her voice that Laura was shocked to hear, but in the second that it took for Laura to look up from her book to Nemu's face, the blankness took over again and those large green eyes were dull and bland.

Nemu was quiet and bland and odd, and Laura wondered how she could be so interesting at the same time.

"Hey, umm, Nemu?" said Laura, approaching the New Girl that Friday. New Girl was sitting in one of the Common Room armchairs, hands folded in her lap, gazing at nothing.

"It's a Hogsmeade weekend, and er… me'n some of the other girls were planning on lunch tomorrow at the Three Broomsticks. Would you like to come with us?"

Those green eyes blinked up at her. Several heartbeats passed in silence, and Laura felt her face growing warm.

"Yes. Thank you for inviting me."

"Oh," said Laura, the answer coming out in a huff of relief. "That's great. We'll meet you here at noon, then?"

"Yes, alright."

Nemu stood to go, and in that graceful sweep of sitting to standing, Laura found herself fixated by New Girl's legs. Resting under the hem of those black robes as she sat, Nemu's legs had seemed round and soft. But as soon as Nemu stood, they hardened like steel and Laura was sure that those were probably the strongest legs she had ever seen on a girl.

When Saturday came, the Three Broomsticks was crowded and noisy. Once again, the mess and the noise didn't seem to bother New Girl, who sat quietly and ate her shepherd's pie.

At a table further in, Laura saw the Creepy Slytherin Girl sitting with her large friend and many other Slytherins. To their right, there was Hisagi, who was sharing a table with the Blond. A rowdy table in the middle of the pub was mostly occupied by New Girls, including the Kotetsu sisters in Gryffindor.

"Hey, look!" exclaimed Kiyone Kotetsu, standing up and waving in their direction. "It's N-"

But her sister grabbed her arm and whispered a few words in Kiyone's ears, so that the shorter girl sat down again, her greeting unfinished.

"What was your old school like?" asked Rose, passing out the butterbeers at their table.

"It was a very good learning institution."

"Did your school have any good Quidditch teams?" asked Megan.

"No, it did not."

"Were you the top of your potions class back there, like you are now?"

"I was adequate."

The girls' voices lowered into mischievous whispers. "Which of the boys do you like best in our House? Tell us, Nemu!"

"For sexual purposes, Justin Finch-Fletchley would be the most attractive."

Rose and Megan squealed and giggled loudly at this response, but Laura sat with her chin in her hand and wondered how odd it was that Nemu said such a thing with no passion. As if she was simply stating a fact, as if she had no interest in boys at all.

"Say, Nemu," said Laura, "what do you like best about Hogwarts?"

Nemu was silent for a while, and stared into her mug. Her eyelids drooped a bit, her lashes brushing her cheeks. "I like the grounds, how I can walk and walk and there would still be grass under my feet and sky above my head," she responded in quite a different tone of voice.

It was then that Laura realized something about New Girl. The blankness in that face was actually a strange sort of sadness, a quiet melancholy. Yet, it did seem that inviting Nemu to go with them was a good idea. Laura saw just the tiniest of smiles on Nemu's face before the outing was over.

"Quidditch tryouts are next week," Megan mentioned off-handedly, as they walked back. "D'you think Cadwallader will be Seeker again?"

Laura thought she saw Nemu's eyes light just a little at the mention of Quidditch tryouts.

A few days later, Laura walked by the Quidditch pitch and wasn't surprised to see Nemu in the stands. She was watching the tryouts.

"Hello, Nemu!" said Laura, coming to sit beside her. "I didn't know you liked Quidditch. Do you play?"

"No." Her voice wasn't quite as dull as it usually was. "I don't play. We didn't have such things at my… old school. It seems intriguing."

Laura watched the yellow-clad players soar around the pitch. She watched Nemu watching them.

The Quaffle was bright red in the morning sun, being tossed back and forth between the Chasers. One of the younger ones fumbled and dropped it, and Laura heard an odd huffing noise from Nemu, then realized it was a quiet laugh. The crack of Beaters' bats against the Bludgers was loud and sharp.

"Laura, please tell me how this game is played," said Nemu, and Laura hurried to explain. She listed off all the rules she knew, all the famous players her older brother was so fond of, all the techniques she'd read about in those Quidditch magazines.

"It really is fun," said Laura. "You should try it! I didn't bring my own broom to Hogwarts, but we can borrow some from Madam Hooch, and if she'll lend us a Quaffle, we could-"

"Oh," Nemu suddenly interrupted. "Don't move an inch. There's a Bludger coming towards your left."

"Summerby, you idiot, don't knock it into the stands!" someone yelled, and Laura felt the Bludger whiz by the left side of her head, missing her face by inches.

There was a tremendous _thump_ and Laura, who had closed her eyes in fear, looked up to see Nemu holding the still-wriggling ball in her bare hand.

"I can't believe it!" Laura gasped. "You actually caught that thing?"

Without a word, Nemu rose to her feet, holding the Bludger effortlessly in her hand. She jumped up in one graceful motion, tossed the ball in the air, and then swung at it with her other arm.

Another loud _thump_ and the Bludger was sailing through the air with enough force to knock Summerby off his broom.

"Wow…"

In seconds, the Hufflepuff Quidditch players were swooping down into the stands, crowding around them, shouting in amazement.

"That was incredible, Kurotsuchi!"

"Did she use a Repelling Charm?"

"No, she used her bare hands! I saw it myself!"

"Amazing!"

"You'd make one hell of a Beater, Kurotsuchi."

"Why don't you try out for the team? We could just get rid of Summerby."'

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"Try out for the team, Kurotsuchi! You _can _fly, right?"

"I'm sorry," said Nemu abruptly, "but I shouldn't." Stiffly, she dipped into a little bow of apology and walked away, leaving them gaping after her. Only Laura saw the look of regret on her face.

"We'll keep you open on the reserve team, if you ever change your mind!" one of them called.

When Laura caught up with Nemu and tried to talk to her about it, she was met with stony silence. Nemu didn't bring up Quidditch for the rest of the day, or the rest of the week.

However, Laura somehow suspected that Nemu would show up again at the Hufflepuffs' first practice, and her suspicions proved correct. The New Girl was sitting in the stands, hands in her lap, gazing up into the sky while her Housemates practiced, much like when she watched the tryouts.

What surprised her was that there was a broom lying by Nemu's feet this time.

"You've got a broom!" exclaimed Laura, plopping down next to Nemu. "So did you join the team after all?"

"No, I haven't," replied Nemu. "I just thought it would be nice to watch them practice."

"Where did you get that?" said Laura, eyeing the broomstick. It was slender and seemed much smaller than a normal one, and was made of very dark wood.

"It's mine," said Nemu. "I made it."

Laura laughed. "You're joking."

In response, Nemu drew her wand and gave it a tap. There was an odd whirring noise, and the broom flew up into the air in a jerky movement. It hovered at about eye level, and Laura could see the initials N.K. etched into the handle. There was also a strange symbol next to N.K. that Laura squinted at but couldn't make out.

"That's a thistle flower-head," said Nemu, as if reading Laura's mind. "It's the symbol of my… old school."

"D-did you really make that thing? I don't think you should use it. It doesn't look too safe."

"It's safe enough. I borrowed one of the brooms Madam Hooch uses for her first-year flying lessons. After I took it apart and put it together a few times, I knew the rudimentary concepts behind a flying broomstick. Then, I made my own."

Laura imagined that Madam Hooch couldn't have been to pleased to discover the New Girl had "taken apart" one of the brooms.

"So, are you going to join the team after all? I know you want to, Nemu. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone through all that trouble."

Nemu lowered her head so that she was staring into her lap again.

"I haven't seen you fly yet, but I'm sure you're quite good," Laura continued, trying to catch Nemu's eye. "Much better than either Smith or Summerby, because those two are hopeless. And wouldn't it be great to have a girl as a Hufflepuff Beater? There haven't been many of those, ever."

"I shouldn't," said Nemu. "My… _father_ would disapprove of me playing silly games. It would be unproductive."

"Quidditch isn't a silly game!" said Laura, a bit indignant. "A lot of our players take it quite seriously, and they work very hard for the team. Some of them even want to become professionals after they graduate from Hogwarts."

Her breath hitched when Laura remembered Cedric Diggory, and how proud he'd been of every little victory, not for himself, but for his House and his teammates.

"I shouldn't," said Nemu, and there was no pleasure in her voice. "I'm a member of the Gobstones Club and I promised the captain that I'd give priority to the club."

Laura's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't known that New Girl joined the Gobstones Club.

"Schoolwork is also very important," Nemu continued. "Professor Slughorn told me that my grades were exceptional, and that he wanted me to join his select group of students. It would be unpleasant if my grades were to drop because I have no time to study. I really shouldn't."

"I shouldn't, I shouldn't, I shouldn't," Laura mimicked nastily.

She stood up, finding herself red-faced with impatience. "What about what you _want_ to do, huh? I know how it is. You do what your father wants and never have any fun. The captain of the Gobstones Club wants you to prioritize Gobstones, so you do what _she _wants. Stupid old Sluggy thinks you're brilliant and wants you in his stupid old club, so you do what _he _wants. Even that weird Slytherin girl you follow around all the time! Don't think I haven't noticed. She tells you to drop whatever it is you're doing and you do what _she _wants, too! Well what about Nemu Kurotsuchi, who wants to play Quidditch? Shouldn't _she _get what she wants?"

"It's just a game," Nemu said softly. "It shouldn't matter."

"Even if it's the silliest game in the entire world, if it means something to you, then it _means something to you_."

Laura panted, not realizing that she had been talking so loud. She looked at Nemu, who was bowing her head so low that strands of her hair were touching her hands.

Suddenly, New Girl stood. Laura gasped when Nemu grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug. It wasn't soft, like she was expecting, but hard and bruising.

"Thank you," said Nemu, pulling back. There was that tiny smile again.

She grabbed the handle of her self-made broom and mounted in a nimble little hop.

"W-wait a minute!" cried Laura. "Are you sure that's safe?"

Without waiting for an answer, Nemu took off towards the other players. Her broom was jerky and hard to control, but _she _was as graceful as a swan spreading its wings in the air.

Laura grinned and felt like cheering.

In the next match against Gryffindor, Nemu took the position of Beater. Her Bludger broke Ginny Weasely's right arm.

Hufflepuff won the match, and Nemu, looking absolutely sweet in her canary-yellow robes, didn't _quite _cheer and throw up her arms. But Laura knew the New Girl was happy, truly happy, by the excited pink flush on Nemu's cheeks and that wide smile.

"I quit the team," said Nemu, as they sat up late that night on Laura's bed. Laura had insisted Nemu put on a robe before allowing her on the bedspread, and they were sharing a celebratory box of chocolates.

"What! Why?"

"Once was enough," replied New Girl, smiling softly.

Nemu's hair was undone and it flowed down her back. There were a few dark strands falling over her eyes and Laura reached over to brush them behind Nemu's ear. She smiled back.

"By the way," said Nemu, "since I don't need my broom anymore, would you like to have it?"

Thoughts of falling off and breaking her neck on the ground flashed through Laura's mind.

"No thanks," she said hurriedly. "I've already got one at home."

"Oh. Then I suppose I'll turn it over to Madam Hooch. She can use it for her first-year flying class."

Thoughts of first years falling off and breaking their necks on the ground flashed through Laura's mind.

"On second thought, I'd love to have it! Thanks."

….

Notes: Thanks so much for reading! Please feedback and let me know what you think!


	3. Sarah Fawcett

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Bleach, and I'm writing this purely for entertainment purposes. No harm intended, no profit made.

Warning: This chapter contains a brief slash reference! (That means a male/male pairing.)

…..

Chapter 3:

At first, Sarah Fawcett thought that the two New Ravenclaws were brother and sister. They were both skinny and serious-looking. They both nudged their glasses up in the same way when they were annoyed. They had similar hairstyles and got matching high scores on every assignment.

Nanao Ise and Uryuu Ishida were certainly similar, but it turned out that they were not siblings. Sarah didn't like either of them.

Ise was pretty but not vain about it, and what was the point of being a pretty girl if you weren't going to be vain? Ishida was also pretty, but had no interest in Sarah Fawcett, and what was the point of being a pretty boy if you weren't going to fall for a pretty, vain girl?

She wasn't overly fond of the Blond either, but the other girls in Ravenclaw liked him a great deal. He was called Izuru Kira. At least he, unlike Ishida, was gracious enough to blush when Sarah flipped her hair, batted her eyelashes, and leaned too close.

One week in, skinny, speccy, pretty Ise tried to start a Hogwarts Witches' Association. At the same time, Ishida opted for an Arts and Crafts Club. There was only room enough for one more student-run organization, and Ise got turned down by the teachers in charge. Sarah suspected it was partly because Trelawny had a crush on Ishida, the old hag.

"I'm sorry, Ise," said Professor Flitwick, when he announced the results of the vote to the Ravenclaws. "If it's any consolation, both Professor McGonagall and I voted for the Witches' Association. Ahem, no offense, Ishida. There's nothing wrong with Arts and Crafts, mind."

Ishida scowled a bit.

After that, Nanao Ise nurtured a bit of a grudge against Ishida. Her blue eyes narrowed whenever he passed her in the hallways, as if she would nick him with her stare, and she worked even harder in her classes in order to score higher than him.

Often, Sarah found them bickering over who found which book first in the library, or who had the rights to the empty sofa in the Common Room.

However, Ise's revenge came when hardly anyone signed up for the Arts and Crafts Club. As it turned out, nobody wanted to attend a club that met on Friday afternoons, when classes were done and the sun was still out.

"No one showed again, huh, Ishida?" snickered Terry Boot during dinner on a Friday night.

Ishida glared into his sprouts. "For your information, _Boot,_-"

"I showed," Loony Lovegood piped up, and _both_ Terry Boot and Michael Corner snickered.

Sarah felt a bit sorry for Ishida, then. In her heart, she even half-forgave him for not flirting with her. Imagine, having Loony Lovegood as your only supporter…

Next Friday, she ditched her friends and went to the Arts and Crafts Club instead. Out of generosity, of course.

It was being held in an empty classroom, and there were pitifully few people there. Lovegood was sitting in one corner with an odd-looking stuffed animal that she had charmed to walk and make snuffling noises. Hermione Granger was there, knitting a lumpy-looking… _thing_. There was that new Gryffindor girl, Orihime Inoue, who was drawing a picture while chattering to Lovegood.

Ishida himself was sitting near the window, embroidering something pink and frilly.

"Look!" chirped Inoue, holding up her brightly colored illustration. It looked like a cross between a rhino and sword-wielding automaton. "Does this look about right, Luna?"

"Crumple-Horned Snorkacks aren't pink," Lovegood replied indulgently. "And they're very peaceful creatures, so it wouldn't be using a sword either."

"Well, I like it. Look, Uryuu, it's a Crumpet-Horned Snorlax!"

"That's nice," said Ishida. He looked up from his frills and noticed Sarah. "You're late, Fawcett. You missed the Club Announcements." His eyes didn't light up at the sight of her, like she thought they would. In fact, he looked like he always did: slightly grouchy.

Sarah tossed her curls over her left shoulder and placed her hand on the curve of her hip. "Hmph. I only came to see what your club was all about. I wasn't going to _stay _or anything."

"No, please stay!" said Orihime, smiling brightly. "We're happy to have you. It's a lot of fun, and we have so few members anyway-"

"So, what did you bring to work on?" Ishida interrupted loudly.

"Er, I didn't really think to bring anything," said Sarah.

He huffed in annoyance, but Orihime presented Sarah with crisp sheets of paper and a fistful of crayons.

"Here, you can share these. Wanna help me draw Crumple-Bummed S'moresnacks?"

"Crumple-Horned Snorkacks," Lovegood corrected in her lilting voice. She twirled her wand, making her plushie dance on its stubby legs.

For the next half hour, Sarah doodled aimlessly, wishing she were catching up on gossip with her friends, instead. Orihime drew three new pictures, Loony Lovegood charmed her stuffed Crumple-Horned Snorkack to turn cartwheels, Granger knitted her thumbs together and had to be extricated, and Ishida's project turned out to be a doll's dress.

"I'm going now," Lovegood announced abruptly, standing up. She tucked her plushie into a pocket.

"What's the matter, Luna?" asked Granger. "You don't look so well."

"Headache. The air feels so _heavy_ today. Must be the Wrackspurts. Goodbye, everyone."

She left, looking a bit pale.

Sarah sighed and considered claiming a Wrackspurt attack as well, so she could leave, but then jumped when Ishida stood up so fast his seat nearly toppled over. The needle fell from his fingers.

"Orihime!" he whispered urgently.

"I know," she said, her cheery mood gone. "I can feel it too. It's close by."

"What? What's close?" asked Granger, looking back and forth between them.

"Oh, nothing!" Orihime said, smiling widely again. She hopped out of her seat and over to Granger. "Let's go back to Gryffindor Tower together, Hermione. It's getting late and I can't _wait_ to start that Charms homework. Boy, am I hungry! I hope there's something good for dinner tonight, haha, but what am I saying, it's always good. Let's go, let's go!"

"But I'm not finished yet," Granger protested weakly, as Orihime linked arms with her and started pulling her up.

"I hope there's pudding tonight, 'cause I love pudding. Oh, have you started on your Potions essay yet, Hermione? I've just started yesterday and it's soooo hard…"

She led Granger out the door, still protesting.

"What's wrong with her?" Sarah wondered.

"Fawcett, we have to go," said Ishida, stuffing his things into his bag.

"Go where? Why?"

"Umm, I-I want to walk you back to your room!" he declared, red-faced.

"Oh, how nice!" said Sarah, feeling as if coming to the Arts and Crafts Club was worth it after all. She patted her hair down before following him out the door.

As they walked down the hall towards the staircase that would take them to Ravenclaw Tower, she made sure to give him her best smile. She was a bit disappointed when he didn't smile back. He didn't flush and try to touch her arm either, like Michael Stebbins did back in Fourth Year. Poor Stumbling Stebbins.

But Ishida obviously liked her, didn't he? Why else would he be walking so close?

And then, she felt it.

There was a strange, unpleasant heaviness in the air. In fact, it had been there all along, but she hadn't noticed until now. Wrackspurts? Could it be?

Ishida had his head tilted up as he walked, eyes wide. His nose was in the air, as if feeling for something invisible, something just out of reach.

He walked quickly, as if he didn't actually want to spend time with her, and she had to trot to keep up with him. As soon as he saw her into the Common Room, he turned around and left Ravenclaw Tower.

Sarah gritted her teeth, feeling snubbed. Secretly, she un-forgave him and vowed never to go back to Arts and Crafts Club again. After all, lipstick was more interesting than embroidery.

But that night, she felt _it _again, the heaviness in the air. It was somehow different than before, not quite as unpleasant. There was a constant pressure against her chest, like invisible fingers closing around her heart. It was very faint, but woke her up all the same, so that she rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. Her temples ached.

Her mind was still fuzzy with sleep, so that when she turned her head to Nanao Ise's side of the room, she wasn't sure if it was real or a dream.

She thought she saw Ise sitting up in bed. From across the room, Sarah thought she saw that Ise's wand was broken, and that Ise was holding the two pieces in her hands. Sarah thought she saw Ise lay the pieces on the bedspread, then hold her hand over them.

Without a whispered spell, broken wand halves fused seamlessly together.

At once, the Feeling disappeared. The strange pressure was lifted from her chest, as if it had been _sealed up_ within Ise's wand. It was as if it wasn't a wand at all, because Sarah knew that a broken wand couldn't be fixed so easily. It was like a vessel for something else. Dark Magic? Strange.

Sarah saw Ise sigh and twirl the wand idly between two fingers. The odd, blue glow disappeared. Soon after, Sarah heard the click as Ise put away her glasses. A slump and a rustle of sheets followed.

Sarah continued to stare into the darkness, wondering if she was dreaming. She didn't realize she had dozed off until her forehead touched her knee because she was hunching over so far.

The next day, Sarah felt groggy and achy. Her breakfast cornflakes tasted terrible and she couldn't seem to concentrate.

"Guess what happened?" Lisa Turpin said that afternoon, when she arrived in the Common Room after classes. Her cheeks were pink from running up all those stairs.

"What?"

"The Speccy Girl joined the Gobstones Club."

"You mean Ise?"

"Yeah, and not just Ise. A bunch of those New students just signed up today. A whole gang of them. I think they were all friends before they came to Hogwarts. You know that Kurotsuchi girl in Hufflepuff? She's actually pretty good."

"Oooh, I know her. Strange one, almost never speaks. Who else?"

"The Kotetsu sisters from Gryffindor. That Kuchiki girl and the tall, busty one who's always getting into trouble. Ugh, and that Creepy Slytherin Girl, Fon."

Over the next few weeks, Sarah found out through Lisa that Nanao Ise had risen through the ranks of the Gobstones Club, using a combination of administrative skills and talent. Apparently, Ise had refused to give up when the Arts and Crafts Club was picked over the Witches' Association. So, instead of forming her own club, she infiltrated another.

In three weeks, she held the proud title of Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones Club. Nemu Kurotsuchi became the best player and was her second in command.

"Today, we talked about whether the Gobstones should have cuter designs," said Lisa, plopping down on one of the Common Room sofas. It was a cold, blustery day and Little Lisa was bundled up in big pink jumper. She hadn't bothered to remove her large pink earmuffs yet, and looked rather like a puff of candyfloss.

"Cuter designs?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah, you know. Like with animal faces painted on. Rukia Kuchiki wanted rabbits and Susan Bones voted for pandas. It was fun. Then we talked about which hair products are best for removing the Gobstones' gunk, whether the rules of the game are unfair to Witches, and how much gender discrimination there is in professional leagues."

The next week, it was a discussion on if the Gobstones Club members should wear color-coordinated badges, how the cut of the Hogwarts girls' uniforms should be prettier, whether there should be more girls' lavatories on the third floor, and the final vote on customized animal-faced Gobstones. Only the last 15 minutes were devoted to actually Gobstones playing.

"We even got candy!" said Lisa. Her pocket was bulging with sweets. "The Club's more fun now that Nanao's taken over. Some of the boys left, though, said it was boring."

"Hmm," said Sarah absentmindedly. She was braiding her hair into a new style in front of the mirror. "You shouldn't eat all those. It'll make you fat."

Lisa ignored her and unwrapped one of the chocolates. "Guess what else happened? Rangiku Matsumoto – that's the busty one – threatened to beat up on one of the second years today! He knocked one of her stones out and she got _completely_ sprayedwith ooze. She was so angry and-"

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" shrieked Sarah. "That's disgusting!" She threw a pillow.

"Did you hear, did you hear?" Padma Patil whispered to her later that night, at dinner. "Izuru Kira's family is nobility, where he comes from!"

"Is it really true?" said Lisa, gasping and then giggling.

"How'd you find out anyway?" said Sarah.

"Well, first Terry told Rose from Hufflepuff, who told Susan Bones, who told Cho and Marietta, who told Mandy. Then Su overheard them whispering about it, then she told Parvati who passed it on to me that Terry Boot overheard Professor Slughorn talking to Kira about it after Potions Class."

"Ooooh, so he's a nobleman?" said Lisa, giggling again. "_And _he's good-looking. No wonder all the girls here like him. Did you know that Cho's boyfriend threw a tantrum when he caught her mooning over Kira the other day?"

"Psh," said Sarah. "Michael's just a jealous prat. I suppose Slughorn's gone and recruited Kira for that club of his, then?"

Padma nodded. "And he's been invited to that Christmas party too. I wonder who he'll take to go with him?"

"Sarah, you should ask him to be your boyfriend!" said Lisa. "Then he'll take you to the party for sure. You're one of the prettiest girls in Ravenclaw, so you've got the best chance."

Well, that was true enough. Sarah sat up straighter and fluffed her hair.

The next day, she dropped her books on the floor outside of Charms class. Izuru Kira picked them up for her and she took the opportunity to smile and thrust her chest towards him. He turned quite red, but carried her books for her to the next class.

She later asked him out for a Butterbeer on the next Hogsmeade weekend, but he turned red again and declined.

"Er, I've actually got a date… I mean lunch! I've got to go to lunch! With a friend. Three Broomsticks."

She chaffed at his rejection, but he was nice enough to keep carrying her books whenever she had a lot of them. And she made sure to carry a lot of them whenever he was around.

Izuru Kira was quiet and didn't spend much time with his fellow Ravenclaws. He did his homework as soon as it was assigned and Sarah always saw him double checking it in the library. His voice was soft and he didn't have a temper, like most boys their age did.

Sarah noticed that he hung around Shuuhei Hisagi from Hufflepuff, and sometimes Renji Abarai from Gryffindor. He liked to read books about Quidditch and preferred tea to coffee in the mornings.

While Ise and Ishida became leaders of their own clubs, Izuru obtained his own fan club of sorts, though he was hardly aware of it. Half of the Ravenclaw girls were already enchanted with his supposed good looks, and when word got out that he was nobility, his popularity rose even higher.

Even Mandy Brocklehurst, who was obsessed with Harry Potter, took some time to flutter her lashes in Kira's direction.

The attention embarrassed him, but he never complained.

When they found out that he wrote poetry, his popularity rose higher yet.

"I wonder if he writes love poems," sighed Lisa. "Wouldn't that be romantic? By the way, Sarah, are you his girlfriend yet?"

"I'm working on it," said Sarah.

The next day, however, several girls lost interest when they found out that Kira submitted a haiku to be published in the _Quibbler_.

"No matter!" the rest of them declared. "At least he's still handsome."

Sarah didn't quite agree. Kira's face was too pointy and his complexion was pasty. But if he was what other girls wanted, then he was what she wanted.

She managed to wheedle him into tutoring her for Arithmancy each Tuesday. She flirted and teased. She acted pretty and vain and pretended she wasn't smart, just so she could lean closer when he showed her how to do her homework.

He blushed and stammered and spilled ink on the cuffs of his shirt. Just as a normal boy should. She liked that.

"So, have you decided who you'll take to Slughorn's Christmas party?" Sarah asked one Tuesday. She leaned her chin on the back of her hand, so that her bangs fell across her forehead. She smiled with her mouth open, so he could see her white teeth.

"Ahh, well… you see, the thing is-"

"Oi! Stop flirting with my boyfriend, you!"

Rangiku Matsumoto arrived in a tornado of sunset-colored hair, ink-stained fingers, and flailing arms. She hugged Kira to her chest before he could react and squeezed him until he went purple.

"Isn't it obvious?" she squealed. "He loves _me_ and he's taking _me _to the Christmas party. So keep your paws off!" She ruffled Kira's hair and smirked.

Sarah frowned. Matsumoto's eyes were bluer and bigger than hers. The New Girl's hair was thicker, her chest was fuller.

"Stop that!" Kira protested weakly, pushing her off as best as he could. "I'm not your boyfriend, Rangiku."

"Aww, don't say that, my sweet, darling-"

"I'm not your boyfriend!"

"Oh, come on. You could be my boyfriend for a little while, just until after the Christmas party!"

"No."

"But I wanna go! You'll take me, won't you? Pleeeeeeease?"

She wrapped him up in her arms again, pushing her bosom into the side of his face. Kira struggled for breath.

"You're too loud," said Ishida, who was reading at the next table over. "You're lucky Madam Pince stepped out for the moment, or she'd have your head. Can't you see people are trying to study here? Go flirt somewhere else."

"You're just jealous that Izuru here is getting all the attention," Matsumoto said cheerfully, flapping her hand in his direction.

"I was invited to that stupid party too, you know. You don't see _me_ making a big fuss about it," Ishida muttered, and flipped a page.

Matsumoto gasped exaggeratedly. She released Kira and lunged for Ishida instead. "My sweet, darling-!"

"Don't even think about it. Even if I didn't already have a date, I wouldn't invite you."

"Whaaaat?" she gasped, clasping her hands over her heart as if she were about to faint. "_You _have a date? Who? Who is it?"

"None of your business!"

"Tell me! Or I'll tell everyone in Gryffindor that you've asked Trelawny and she turned you down!"

"You're so irritating!"

"Just tell me!"

Ishida's buried his face in his book. "It's Nanumph."

"Nanao? No waaaay! Wait'll I tell-"

"No yelling in the library!" shrieked Madam Pince, suddenly appearing. She stalked towards them, wielding her wand like a switch.

Mastsumoto let out a comical-sounding wail and ran for it. Kira sighed, red-faced, as she swept out of the library.

"Well, then," said Sarah, a bit shortly. "_Have _you found a guest to take to the Christmas party?"

"S-sorry," he replied, stumbling in his haste to get up. "I have to go to the toilet."

Sarah moped for the rest of that Tuesday.

The day for the Slughorn's party drew nearer. There was still no invitation from Kira, for Sarah or any of the other girls. There was some pleasure, though, when Sarah heard that he hadn't invited Rangiku Matsumoto either.

Early holiday packages came by owl mail, filled with chocolates and jumpers. Little Lisa walked around bundled in red and yellow wool, and carried a new Gobstones set.

Kira was plied with boxes of sweets from his admirers. Sarah wondered what he did with all of it, since she never saw him eating the stuff.

Ise and Ishida bickered and bickered, but there was less bite to it than there was at the beginning of the year.

Two days before the Christmas party, Sarah woke up in the middle of the night, remembering that she had left her bag in the Great Hall. It was after curfew, but she needed the cosmetics in her bag before she could go to classes the next morning.

She wrapped herself up in a scarf and snuck out of the Ravenclaw dorms in her socks. The floors were cold and she shivered.

Sneaking her way down the staircase, she managed to escape being caught by either Mr. Filch or any of the other teachers. She retrieved her bag, but was unable to go back the way she came, because she spied the caretaker puttering about.

Quickly, she snuck through the halls, her footsteps muffled. There was another way to reach the spiral staircase, but she needed to walk twice as long. In the near dark, she passed by suits of armor and empty classrooms, then received quite a shock when she saw the glint of pale blond hair disappearing into one of the classrooms.

Izuru Kira was apparently sneaking around, just like her. He hadn't noticed her yet. Curiosity got the better of her and she followed him, staying near the walls. A quick glance behind her confirmed that Filch was coming their way, but he was far back enough that she could easily outrun him.

Pulling her scarf up to her nose, she peeked in, wondering if Kira was meeting with some girl.

He wasn't meeting with a girl, but with Shuuhei Hisagi from Hufflepuff.

Sarah Fawcett wasn't an overly vindictive girl, but even she had her limits. And besides, if _she _had been caught snogging with Michael Stebbins in Fourth Year, there was no reason Kira deserved to escape unscathed.

So, she set fire to the seat of Hisagi's trousers (a beacon in the dark for Filch) and ran for it.

….

Notes: Thank you all so much for reading! Please review and let me know what you think!


End file.
